Tax Panel Announces Witness List for First  Meeting and Launches Official Website

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux, Chairman and Vice -Chairman of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, today announced the witness list for the Panel’s first meeting and the launch of the Panel’s official website, Taxreformpanel.gov.

The witnesses are Fred T. Goldberg, Louis Kaplow, William G. Gale, and Stephen J. Entin. Biographical information for each witness is attached.

Secretary of the Treasury John Snow will also appear before the panel.

“The President has tasked our Panel with developing reforms to make the tax code simpler, fairer and more growth oriented. I look forward to the opportunity to hear from Secretary Snow as well as this distinguished group of experts as we begin the process of examining the problem and formulating solutions,” Senator Mack stated.

“The current tax system is an unfair burden on Americans,” added Senator Breaux. “When it takes the average taxpayer 11 hours to fill out the short tax form, something is wrong. This is a unique opportunity to work in a bipartisan effort and find ways to make the tax system serve Americans better.”

The witnesses will provide the Panel with an historical overview of our current tax system and an understanding of how it evolved and where it is today. The Panel also will hear background about tax systems. In particular, the witnesses will explain the difference between a tax on income and a tax on consumption, how the different bases impact the overall functioning of the tax system, and the advantages and disadvantages of each one in terms of simplicity, fairness and economic growth.

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The meeting will be held on  Wednesday, February 16, 2005 at 10:00 AM in the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center Amphitheater, Concourse Level, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC. 

Also, the Panel today announced the launch of Taxreformpanel.gov, the Panel’s official website. Taxreformpanel.gov will provide full information about the Panel’s activities including meeting information and materials, public announcements and press releases.

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Biographical Information for Witnesses Scheduled to Participate in the First Meeting of The President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform February 16, 2005

Fred T. Goldberg, Jr. is currently a Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP in Washington, DC. He first joined Skadden, Arps in 1986, following two years as Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. Previously, Mr. Goldberg served as Commissioner of the IRS and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. Mr. Goldberg received his B.A. and his J.D. from Yale University.

Louis Kaplow is currently the Finn M.W. Caspersen and Household International Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard Law School. Dr. Kaplow received his B.A. from Northwestern University, his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.

William G. Gale is the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair at The Brookings Institution and the Co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. From 1991-1992, Dr. Gale served as Senior Staff Economist at the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Previously, Dr. Gale was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Gale received his B.A. from Duke University and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Stephen J. Entin is currently President and Executive Director at the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation. Mr. Entin is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Department of the Treasury. Prior to joining Treasury, Mr. Entin was a staff economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress. Mr. Entin is a graduate of Dartmouth College and received his graduate training in economics at the University of Chicago, majoring in macroeconomics, monetary policy, and international economics.